British photography is one of the features of Dominic Winter’s auction on Wednesday 21 May. In a private collection of 65 lots are familiar names such as George Davison, Francis Frith, Lady Hawarden, John Dillwyn Llewelyn, Hugh Owen, Robert Macpherson, James Robertson and John Thomson, alongside less familiar names working in various processes from the 1840s onwards. One still familiar view to many, shows the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, from Observatory Hill, with the Thames seen behind. This mammoth plate albumen print (lot 165: £200-300) is firmly attributed to Roger Fenton, and believed to be one of about 50 London views taken by him.
Among the other notable items are Henry Albert Frith’s ‘The Last of the Native Race of Tasmania’, 1864 (lot 20: £700-1,000), Frank Hurley’s ‘Endurance Steaming through Loose Pack Ice, Weddell Sea’, December 1914, signed and inscribed by expedition biologist Dr Robert Selbie Clark (lot 75: £2,000-3,000), Sebastiao Salgado’s ‘Mali’, 1985 in a portrait format (lot 104: £2,500-3,500), plus good material on China and Seychelles, good daguerreotypes and ambrotypes, albums and loose images.
Perhaps the most interesting photograph in the sale is a Japanese view taken by amateur photographer and British consul, Abel Gower (lot 22: £500-800). Taken from the mainland it shows a view from the hillside over rooftops and across the harbour to Dejima, the artificial island used as a Dutch trading post, which was at that time the only Japanese territory open to Westerners. The 15 x 20 cm photograph is dated on the mount ‘June 1859’, and taken just before the port of Nagasaki was opened to foreign trade on 4 July 1859.
Due to Japan’s isolationism during the Edo period, any photographs of the country pre-1860 are exceedingly scarce. This is one of the earliest known surviving photographs of Japan, and quite possibly the oldest surviving salt print. Until now only one other photograph by Abel Gower was known and, amazingly, that is the same image as this one, albeit a large-format albumen print. Taken from the same glass negative, is it possible that this salt print pre-dates the albumen print? Most of the information about Abel Gower, and an image of the albumen print, can be found in Terry Bennett’s pioneering work on the subject, Photography in Japan 1853-1912.
This photograph was only recently discovered at the back of an album of Japanese Sketches by and relating to Sir Rutherford Alcock, the first diplomatic representative to live in Japan (lot 257: £2,000-3,000). The album and photograph, along with various family photograph cased images and manuscript ephemera, (also in the sale), all having come down through the Alcock/Lowder families by direct descent.
The second half of the 480-lot sale comprises postcards, posters, autographs, documents and related paper ephemera.
Digital catalogues in various formats are available on the website www.dominicwinter.co.uk.
Public viewing daily on Monday/Tuesday 19/20 May, 9.30-5.30, and day of sale from 9am; all other times by appointment.
For further information and enquiries please contact Chris Albury chris@dominicwinter.co.uk | 01285 860006
Dominic Winter Auctioneers, Mallard House, Broadway Lane, South Cerney, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 5UQ
Comments